Program Goals

The Clinical Informatics and Patient-Centered Technologies (CIPCT) Online Master of Science degree program at the University of Washington (UW) is designed for health care professionals who are interested in learning about the information technology (IT) tools available for use in the clinical setting and how to integrate those tools efficiently and effectively to improve care. Graduates of our program go on to work for healthcare organizations or industry vendors, helping to develop, select, implement, manage and evaluate the use of these tools.

The field of informatics encompasses many disciplines: nursing informatics, medical informatics, public health informatics, biomedical informatics, etc. The CIPCT program overlaps many of these areas in our focus on the use of information technology to support, improve and evaluate clinical care. Ideal applicants will hold a Bachelor’s degree and have at least one year of experience in health care delivery. Our students and graduates should be familiar with the challenges and opportunities for IT in the clinical setting.

Prospective students should visit our Graduate Testimonials to hear about what some of our graduates are doing.

Basic Program Structure

Students can attend full-time, completing the program in as little as 15 months, or part-time, completing the program in 2 years. Most of our students attend part-time while maintaining their current employment.

All required courses are taught online, accessible from one’s home or office. Students can interact live with faculty and peers via web conference or asynchronously through email and discussion boards. Learn more about Online Learning and the CIPCT Curriculum.

Annual Meeting

Students are required to attend one weekend session per year at the Seattle Campus. This will generally occur the weekend before Fall Quarter, to minimize lost work time. Aside from this annual weekend, students can complete the entire program from a distance.

At this meeting, new CIPCT students will be oriented to the program and Graduate School, and participate in a variety of training activities and some educational sessions. The CIPCT faculty bring in guest speakers for an afternoon to share information about career development, current research, and events affecting the informatics field in general.

One of the most important aspects of the Annual Meeting is the opportunity for students to meet each other face to face prior to beginning courses and to re-connect at the beginning of their second year of study. Students report that these in-person sessions contribute greatly to a feeling of connectedness with the cohort and make the online interactions more personal and meaningful.

Resources for Prospective Students

Prospective students should explore the News & Events section of this site for more information about current events in the program. In News & Events we list upcoming events, offering an opportunity to meet us face to face. We also list our latest issue of the CIPCT Newsletter, highlighting students and faculty in the program along with interesting news in the field or the program.